View this email in your browser Unleashing the Power of Culture  Executive Director Anita Walker Vibrant cities and towns. Children experiencing the delight of discovery while exercising their creative minds. Our icons of liberty preserved and celebrated. Our science museums, helping us understand our world and inspiring a new generation to make it even better. This is the Power of Culture. The Mass Cultural Council is committed to unleashing this power across the Commonwealth. Learn more about our work to elevate the cultural life of the Commonwealth through the arts, humanities, and sciences to enrich communities, grow the economy, increase accessibility, and foster creative youth development. Our New Vision About the Mass Cultural Council The Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. Copyright © 2017 Mass Cultural Council, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Mass Cultural Council 10 St. James Avenue Boston, MA 02116

Mass Senate Votes Unanimously to Restore Culture Funding

View this email in your browser Mass Senate Votes Unanimously to Restore Culture Funding (Boston, MA) – The Massachusetts Senate voted unanimously today to restore nearly $2 million in state funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences through the Mass Cultural Council. The bipartisan override to Governor Charlie Baker's veto restores cultural funding to $14 million for FY18, level with the fiscal year that ended in June. The vote closes the books on a lengthy budget process that began last January. It assures Mass Cultural Council's ability to maintain funding for core programs such as operating support for nonprofit cultural organizations and grants to local cultural councils, cultural districts, creative youth development and education programs, and artists. The Senate vote followed a House override earlier this month to restore cultural funding, which passed with wide support. Today's override was led by Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, Ways & Means Committee Chair Karen Spilka of Ashland, and Adam Hinds of Pittsfield, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development. Spilka said cultural funding is a "priority of the Senate" in part because of its role in supporting arts education and job creation. "It's our job to continue to enhance our communities through the arts, sciences, and humanities," she said on the Senate floor. Hinds and his Joint Committee Co-Chair, Representative Cory Atkins of Concord, circulated letters to their House and Senate colleagues asking them to prioritize Mass Cultural Council in budget veto overrides. MASSCreative, with support from Mass Humanities, Mass Artists Leaders Coalition, and many others statewide, urged advocates to encourage their legislators to endorse the letter and thus ensure a wide base of support. "A community isn't complete until there are the arts feeding the souls of the people and a healthy democracy," remarked Rosenberg at a creative economy press conference in Boston Monday. "We are so fortunate to have a Senate President and a leadership team who truly understand the transformative power of the arts, humanities, and sciences in their communities," said Anita Walker, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director. "Thanks to vigorous, persistent advocacy from our many partners across the Commonwealth, we've weathered another stormy fiscal year. We will continue to make the case for cultural funding and ensure the arts, humanities, and sciences have a seat at the public policy table on Beacon Hill throughout this legislative session and beyond." About the Mass Cultural Council Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. The agency's total budget for this fiscal year is $15.7 million, which includes a state appropriation and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The Mass Cultural Council also runs the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment. Copyright © 2017, All rights reserved. This e-mail was sent from Massachusetts Cultural Council Our mailing address is: Mass Cultural Council • 10 St. James Ave., 3rd floor • Boston, MA 02116 • 617-858-2700

Governor’s Veto Cuts Funding for Culture, Legislators Seek Override

View this email in your browser Governor's Veto Cuts Funding for Culture, Legislators Seek Override (Boston, MA) – On Monday Governor Charlie Baker vetoed a line in the state budget that funds the Mass Cultural Council, cutting its allocation by 14 percent to just over $12 million. Earlier this month the state Legislature voted overwhelmingly to fund the arts, humanities, and sciences through Mass Cultural Council at just under $14 million for the new fiscal year, roughly level with last year's funding. Legislative supporters of cultural funding immediately vowed to seek an override of the Governor's veto. State Senator Adam Hinds of Pittsfield and Representative Cory Atkins of Concord have circulated a letter to their colleagues urging support for an override. The legislators are co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development. "There are few places in America as rich with culture as Massachusetts," the letter states. "From Boston to the Berkshires, from Cape Ann to Cape Cod, our state boasts an array of exceptional cultural organizations, beautiful and distinctive communities, and thousands of talented artists and educators. Mass Cultural Council nurtures this cultural life, so it is imperative that we continue to provide the agency with the necessary resources to continue the great work it does in the Commonwealth." MASSCreative is leading a statewide advocacy effort to urge legislators to support the override, which requires the support of 2/3 of the members of both the House and the Senate. Fiscal Year 2018 began July 1. "Our supporters in the Legislature know that smart, strategic investment in culture delivers broad public benefits to communities across the Commonwealth," said Anita Walker, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director. "We are grateful for their support, and urge all those who care about culture to join this effort to ensure adequate funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences." About the Mass Cultural Council The Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. The agency's total budget for this fiscal year is $15.7 million, which includes a state appropriation and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The Mass Cultural Council also runs the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment. Copyright © 2017, All rights reserved. This e-mail was sent from Massachusetts Cultural Council Our mailing address is: Massachusetts Cultural Council • 10 St. James Ave., 3rd floor • Boston, MA 02116 • 617-858-2700

Senate Budget Plan Boosts Cultural Funding & Supports New Public Art Measure

View this email in your browser State Senate Budget Plan Boosts Cultural Funding & Supports New Public Art Measure (Boston, MA) - The Massachusetts Senate demonstrated strong support for the arts, humanities, and sciences in the Fiscal 2018 budget plan it approved last week, boosting cultural funding by 18 percent and approving a new program to support public art. Those proposals now go before a House-Senate conference committee charged with reconciling the two chambers' approaches to the budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1. The House and Senate then must approve a final budget plan before sending it back to the Governor, who can sign it, veto it, or veto select line items. Over the next several weeks the Mass Cultural Council and its advocacy partners—MASSCreative, Mass Humanities, Mass Artists Leaders Coalition, and others—will urge members of that conference committee to adopt the Senate plan so the benefits of public support for culture can be shared across more communities. "The Senate showed real leadership at a time of continuing pressure on state finances," said Anita Walker, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director. "They heard from advocates statewide that state support for culture is not a subsidy—it is a down payment on our future prosperity as a Commonwealth." The final Senate budget calls for $16.5 million to support the arts, humanities, and sciences through the Mass Cultural Council. That would represent an increase of $2.5 million, or 18 percent. By contrast, the House would allocate $12 million for the arts and culture, a cut of roughly 13 percent, for next year. Current state arts funding via Mass Cultural Council is $14 million. The budget plan also included language sponsored by Senator Eric Lesser of East Longmeadow to establish the Massachusetts Public Art Program (MPAP), which would set aside funds for the creation and preservation of public art on Commonwealth-owned properties. MASSCreative and its advocates campaigned in support of the measure. "The Senate budget offers a real chance to further fuel our creative economy," said Walker. "We will put those additional dollars to work in ways that drive cultural tourism, employment, and community vitality across the Commonwealth." Walker urged the cultural community to thank their Senators for their show of support, and ask their Representatives to support the arts and culture provisions in the Senate budget. Arts and cultural leaders can go to our Advocacy Action Center for additional background on the process and information for making the case to lawmakers. About the Mass Cultural Council The Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. The agency's total budget for this fiscal year is $16.1 million, which includes a $14 million state appropriation and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The Council also runs the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment. Copyright © 2017, All rights reserved. This e-mail was sent from Massachusetts Cultural Council Our mailing address is: Massachusetts Cultural Council • 10 St. James Ave., 3rd floor • Boston, MA 02116 • 617-858-2700